Residents are finding it easier to navigate construction obstacles at the St. George Ferry Terminal, as the completion date gets closer.

The approximately 70,000 commuters who ride the ferry daily should be happy to hear that the nearly 3-year-old project should be finished in February.

And as it winds down, Islanders are finding it easier to get around the terminal than in past months, when a maze of arrows and cones sent motorists snaking through the South Municipal parking lot to exit the Kiss and Ride drop off area.

"I managed; it's OK," said one resident, who identified himself as Jim T. from the North Shore. "Sometimes when I get here, depending on what time, I have to wait to come in, but as long as they're making an improvement I'm good with that. I'm only here for a short time. Just picking up and going."

And although bus stops have shifted during the construction, Diana Robinson of Tompkinsville has found her 

</jto/1>FINISH, PAGE A 6 

"I haven't really had any issues, none at all," said Ms. Robinson, who uses the ferry about four times a week. "I haven't been inconvenienced at all."

"The directions are always clear as to where to go to get on the buses if they're not at the usual stops," she added.

Workers now are rehabilitating the right side of the ramp entering the Kiss and Ride and South Municipal parking lot from the intersection of Bay Street and Richmond Terrace. They completed work on the left side last month.

Work is also taking place on the entrance ramp used by buses to access various stops at the terminal from the intersection of Bay and Richmond. The ramp is closed to traffic, with most of the road surface removed to rehabilitate the ramp and steel structures.

When completed, this project will include a bike lane, also entering the terminal from the Bay Street intersection, and a pedestrian walkway, plans show.

Re-grading and paving work will next target the north and south municipal parking lots, according to Department of Transportation spokesman Nicholas Mosquera.

The exit ramp from the Kiss and Ride and South Municipal Parking lot, which leads to Richmond Terrace, was painted this month.

The city DOT is managing the $175 million project, which is fully funded with federal stimulus money and is the largest stimulus project in New York City.

While restrooms in the waiting area have been closed for upgrades, the main corridor restrooms have remained open, Mosquera said.

The massive project aims at bringing the transit hub "into a state of good repair," Mosquera added.

Other goals have been to maintain all ferry, bus and train operations while trying to minimize disruptions to the public, improve pedestrian and cyclist access and improve circulation on the bus ramps, according to plans.

The scope of the project includes rehabilitating seven ramps and decks, performing structural steel repairs, repainting steel structures and reconstructing bus canopies at the stops.

Drainage improvements will be completed in the North Municipal lot before paving is done, according to plans.